I think this is good to hear. Hopefully that medicine will work. I don't remember whether or not you thought the Thundershirt helped.

My vet sells that Nutricalm and said that some people swear by it. I do hope it helps little Pixie.

Thanks. I hope so too as they are predicting more thunderstorms tomorrow night and Thursday. I did think the thundershirt helped some but not a lot and not consistantly.

Poor little Pixie. Praying that both you and she have a better night!

My mom's dog is suddenly going through anxiety issues and they think it's because I moved out. Amazing what can trigger our furbabies!:(

So sorry to hear little Pixie is not feeling well! It is good to hear she checked out ok physically and Sending prayers for her and that the nutricalm will help.

I found her thundershirt!! I was going to go buy another one tomorrow but wanted to do one last search of my closet. It was in one of the shelves that holds my shoes. I know I looked there twice before. I am just happy I don't have to buy another one.

Yay!! Go put it on her:p

So sorry for what you are going through...just seeing this. I am happy you got some answers. I may have to ask my vet about that nutricalm because my lab mix is always anxious about noises and he hates thunder and especially fireworks...

Sending Pixie hugs!!!

Remembering to check this thread tomorrow to see how Pixie did. Hopefully, she's settling down.

How did Pixie do last night?

I hope the Nutricalm and Thundershirt combo worked for Pixie. Looking forward to your update.

Pixie was fine last night. We didn't have any storms but she had been anxious the past 2 nights without storms too. I gave her the medicine at 8 pm. She had a few moments last night where she started to get anxious but she settled back down after a minute. This morning I was getting ready to go to the shelter and I heard thunder. Pixie was starting to get upset but she was no where near as frantic. I gave her her dose of the medicine and left for the shelter. On my way there terrible thunder and rain started. I called my Dh and he said Pixie had woken him up and wanted to be held. I told him to put her thundershirt on (I didn't put it on before I left because I an nervous leaving anything on them when I am gone). I checked back 30 minutes later and he said she was sleeping in the closet. I have made a bedroom for her in there since she became so anxious. I left early from the shelter to see how she was doing. She was wanting me to pick her up and panting but no shaking. The thunder has now stopped and she is sleeping on the bed in her thundershirt. This is a big improvement. Normally after a storm it takes her a long time to settle down. It looks like the combination of the Nutricalm and the thundershirt have helped a lot. I will know more when we get our next storms later today and tonight and I am home to really observe. Thanks for all the support.

This is good news Patti! You may want to consider leaving the Thundershirt on for longer periods of time. On rainy days Cooper wears his almost all day long. I'm really glad that it's not a medical issue. I suppose you will just have to learn how to deal with the anxiety. It also helps me to put Cooper's shirt on at the very first start of a storm. I find that if it has already thundered and I forgot to put the shirt on that he's not as fast to calm. There are also some YT'ers who have had great experience with Rescue Remedy. I suppose it's another alternative you can look into.

Thanks. I have had her thundershirt on all day as they are predicting more storms today and tonight. She has been sleeping calmly on my bed. She had been spending most of her time in my closet so I think she is feeling much less anxious. Here is a pic of her the other day in my closet. I made it into a bedroom for her lol. And one I just took of her sleeping on my bed.

Patti, I'm sorry Pixie has been so anxious. I hope she continues to improve.

I'm glad it's a step up from what it was before. I'm hoping it will continue to improve till it's all back to normal. Prayers for you and Pixie.

so sorry that you are going through this with pixie again. i know it must be so frustrating trying to figure out what it is that is bothering her. i know in the chicago area we have had endless terrible thunderstorms and i'm sure that has not been helping her situation. these storms just do not stop! ugh. sending well wishes and prayers that the nutricalm will help pixie's anxiety and get her back to her old self!!! glad to hear she is beginning to improve!

Another night of constant thunderstorms. Pixie had her Thundershirt on all day and her Nutricalm. She didn't get anxious before the thunder started like she did before. Once the storms got over us she was clinging to me and panting. The only difference with the shirt and medicine was she didn't shake. So I guess it's a little improvement. She wouldn't eat last night or early this morning either. The storms have stopped for now and she is resting comfortably but they are predicted more storms later today and tonight. We are both wiped out from no sleep. She is so scared I get afraid she is going to have a heart attack. Her vet is calling tomorrow to see how she is doing. She had mentioned that we could go up to 2.0 ml of the nutricalm if needed. She is on .5 right now. So maybe she will respond better to a higher dose. I have never seen so many storms in one year. Please keep Pixie in your prayers as it is taking it's toll on her. Her whole personality has changed. Thanks

I will continue to pray for Pixie. It must be so scary for her, not understanding all that's going on. The weather has been crazy this summer, I agree. Hope the increase in meds will help her improve further.:hug:

I just can't wait to see the update that Pixie is doing better. It sounds like you can comfortably increase the dosage so hopefully that will help. Does she seem depressed all day when there are no storms or does she act normally? Does she play?

Thanks. I am going to up her dose tonight if the storms materialize. The vet just wanted to start her on the lowest dose. I will give her 1.0 ml. If that doesn't help I will ask the vet tomorrow what dose to give her. She acts depressed for days after the storms. She won't take treats, I had to hand feed her earlier since she hadn't eaten since yesterday. She just has no spark and never runs just walks slowly. That's why I thought it could be her legs or her mouth but both checked out fine. She was just starting to perk up before this last batch of storms. I am praying for the day again when every time I get up she goes crazy barking at my feet. She also let me know if I was a few minutes late for treat or meal time now nothing.

Hi Patti! Finally ... a name I recognize!:) It's been more than a year since I've logged on but I wanted to check in again as I am now in the sad spot of knowing I'm on borrowed time with Oz.:(

That is so awful about Pixie. Poor baby girl.

Awww, Patti. So sorry that Pixie is having such a hard time. I hope that you will be able to find something to help her settle down. I've heard very good things about the thunder shirt and it sounds like the combination of that and the meds are having a good effect on her. Hope this continues. :)

Praying that Pixie continues to improve...

We had more thunderstorms last night. They just popped up out of nowhere. I had been monitoring the weather channel all evening and nothing. About 9 pm all of a sudden thunder. Pixie flew into my arms and was shaking and panting. I gave her her medicine and put her thunder shirt on. She stopped the shaking but wanted to be held and was panting heavily. She absolutely won't let me put her down so I held her until 1 am when she finally fell asleep in my arms. I turned off the tv and lights and put her in her bed and all of a sudden thunder again. So we were up until 3:30 am. She slept until 6:30 but wouldn't eat. Today she as been sleeping a lot but she also had her dose of nutricalm this morning. They aren't predicting storms until Sunday night so hopefully we can get a couple of nights of sleep in. I really don't know what else do do for her. The vet really doesn't want to put her on tranquilizers due to her size.
Nicole it is so good to see you posting. I am sorry to hear about Ozzie. I will keep him in my prayers.

Oh I keep hoping for something better, Patti! This may sound crazy, but I'm wondering if she's now conditioned to think thunder=mommy holds me. What happens if you put her down? Does she just try to jump up on you? I don't know what I would do in your situation. I'd probably do the same.

I'm undecided on whether or not I like Cesar Millan but I found a couple of pieces of information that you can peruse through. I do believe dogs are in tune with their owner's behaviors and reactions.

Summer Storm Sensitivity | www.cesarsway.com

Cesar Millan's Dog Community and Forums

http://dogs.about.com/od/dogbehavior...nderstorms.htm

It sounds like storms do set the problem off, but I wonder why/what happened/if there is something wrong with the way she is processing things.

If the vet can't pinpoint anything, then I'd try a veterinary behaviorist who can help you with training, drugs, and reasons for this behavior.

If the vet did find anything, I'd explore it further. The Tramadol helps sometimes? I wonder if that has to do with a pain drug making her feel differently rather than an actual reduction of pain.

No other signs of weird behavior that could be attributed to something neurological going on?

Thanks for the links I will read them. Pixie has never been one to sit in my lap or want a lot of attention so I don't know if she is looking for attention. I think she is really scared. I know I shouldn't hold her but it is usually during the night and we are in bed so she just keeps jumping on me.
The vet really felt that there was nothing medical going on with her. Pixie has always been high strung but never afraid of thunder. The vet tech called today and wanted to find out how Pixie was doing. I had her ask the vet if I could up her nutricalm and she said yes. The one difference I have seen since she is on the medicine is that she gets back to normal after the storms pretty quickly. Today she has been acting the most normal I have seen her in weeks. She started eating treats and eating her meals. She is barking when I get up and she hasn't gone in the closet all day. I am hoping that with some storm free days and the medicine she will relax. The vet tech said her 2 dogs have thunder anxiety too. I have never seen so many thunder storms in 58 years. Thanks for the support.

This may sound a bit 'out there' but I just feel so bad for you and your baby, I'm stretching to try to think of something. When our boy was having some separation anxiety when I went back to work after the summer break, both our holistic vet and our trainer recommended a bach flower tincture like Rescue Remedy to help mellow him out. We didn't use the Rescue Remedy because our holistic vet prescribed a bach formula just for him that had some other stuff too. It really helped him ease into the change of the routine. Our trainer always recommends using the Rescue Remedy for the fireworks on the 4th and also during thunderstorms or other highly stressful times. Again, I'm stretching here, but if you are sure this is not a medical problem, this might be something to try.

Thanks my vet gave a herbal anxiety medicine called nutricalm which I think is similar to Rescue Remedy. If the higher dose doesn't help I will give the RR a try.